Senate committee unanimously confirms Deb Frobe to State Land Board

The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday unanimously approved Deborah (Deb) Frobe's reappointment to the Colorado State Board of Land Commissioners and placed the appointment on the senate consent calendar.

Director Nicole Rosmarino introduced Frobe, saying the State Land Board manages trust assets to support public schools and other institutions and that Frobe had been "unanimously elected by her fellow commissioners to chair" the board. Rosmarino said the board holds "2,800,000 acres of surface land and 4,000,000 acres of subsurface mineral estate" and that it generated "$2,000,000,000 to benefit Colorado's public school children." Rosmarino urged the committee to confirm Frobe so she could continue serving in the natural-resources seat.

"I'm honored to be here today to be considered for reappointment to the Colorado State Land Board," Frobe told the committee, describing her background in conservation with The Nature Conservancy and in finance. She said her priorities include transparency, informed discussion and balancing revenue generation with long-term stewardship.

Committee members asked about specific land-management practices. Senator Perry Pelton asked whether the board had changed a policy on rodent management after producers complained; Frobe deferred to Rosmarino, who said there has been no policy change and any wildlife policy would be vetted with stakeholders and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. On the placement of renewable energy projects, Frobe said the board defers to local land-use control and assesses projects case by case, including agricultural productivity and habitat considerations. "We analyze it from all kinds of different perspectives," she said, and the board has declined at least one solar project because of "the high quality of forage that was involved."

A committee member moved to approve the appointment. The clerk polled the committee and recorded unanimous support; the chair announced that the appointment would be placed on the consent calendar.

The committee took no further action on the nomination beyond the favorable recommendation; the appointment will proceed through the senate consent process.